ASTHMA AND RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS IN 6-7-YR-OLD ITALIAN CHILDREN - GENDER, LATITUDE, URBANIZATION AND SOCIOECONOMIC-FACTORS

Little information is available on the epidemiology of childhood respi ratory disorders in Southern Europe, We investigated the prevalence of asthma and respiratory symptoms in a large sample of schoolchildren, according to gender, latitude, urbanization, and socioeconomic status, Questionnaires including the International Study of Asthma and Allerg ies in Childhood (ISAAC) core module on wheeze, as well as questions a bout other respiratory symptoms (including cough and phlegm), were com pleted by the parents of 18,737 schoolchildren aged 6-7 yrs, from eigh t centres of northern and central Italy, Wheeze in the last 12 months was reported for 9% of males and 6% of females, and severe wheezing at tacks for 1.4 and 0.8%, respectively, Asthma during lifetime was repor ted for 11% of males and 6.4% of females, The prevalence of physician- diagnosed asthma increased with level of urbanization, but reported wh eezing did not, suggesting a labelling bias. Socioeconomic status was not associated with the prevalence of most wheezing symptoms or of phy sician-diagnosed asthma, but was negatively correlated with the number of hospital admissions because of asthma, Unlike wheezing symptoms, t he prevalence of chronic cough and phlegm was associated with increasi ng urbanization and decreasing socioeconomic level. Urbanization and s ocioeconomic level have little effect on the prevalence of wheezing in this area, but they might influence the diagnosis and the management of asthma, as well as the prevalence of chronic cough and chronic phle gm.